Glee Recap: The Sex Factor

Warning: This week’s “controversial” episode of Glee — entitled “The First Time” — contained not a single scene of gratuitous teen sex, nor did it linger on the undulating, half-clothed bodies of its young and attractive cast members.

What the action-packed hour did accomplish, however, was reminding the world that there are still great stories to be told about the residents of the fictitious William McKinley High School, and that it has a deep and talented cast capable of brining those scenarios to vivid life. (It also made a strong case that the show might be at its best when Mr. Schue and Sue Sylvester are relegated to benchwarmer status.)

If you were too busy bellying up to the bar at Scandals to catch “The First Time” — which poetically juxtaposed scenes from the McKinley production of West Side Story with moments from a week in the lives of Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, Finn and their cohorts — please allow me to catch you up (in the classic “here’s what you missed on Glee” format):

During final rehearsals for West Side Story, student director Artie unearthed the fact that his leads Rachel and Blaine were still virgins, and questioned their “strange aversion to fun.” The insecure thespians naturally began to wonder if they could successfully portray Maria and Tony without experiencing their own sexual awakenings, but their initial efforts to go all the way with their respective beaus went badly awry: Rachel offended Finn when he found out her main reason for wanting to lose her virginity was to improve her acting, while Kurt got into a fight with an inebriated Blaine when the latter teen went in for a drunken grope in the parking lot of local gay bar Scandals.

Complicating the Blaine-Kurt dynamic was Blaine’s coffee-klatching with Dalton Academy acquaintance Sebastian Smythe; their cups of coffee practically boiled over with sexual tension during conversations that turned show choir into a metaphor for the big nasty, and Blaine didn’t help matters by initially playing a little coy about his relationship status. (“McKinley is where my heart is,” were his exact words, which did not include the nouns “boyfriend” or “Kurt.”) After Kurt met his new rival, he promptly agreed to a group outing to Scandals (the better not to look like a guy whose main bonding mechanism is a rigorous over-the-phone skin-sloughing regimen), and that’s where he ran into former bully Karofsky, who revealed he’d transferred to a new school to experience a “normal senior year without people hearing rumors about me.” Was that some budding chemistry between two former enemies whose names begin with ‘K’? The story is developing…

By episode’s end, both Rachel and Blaine found forgiveness — and sexual willingness — with their partners. “Sebastian doesn’t mean anything to me,” said Blaine. “I was drunk and I’m sorry.” And after Kurt’s saucy retort — “Sure beats last time you were drunk and made out with Rachel” — the boys beat a quick path to the bedroom for a subtly shot sex scene that left pretty much everything to the imagination.

Rachel, meanwhile, went to Finn’s to apologize for letting her ambitions trump her emotions, and discovered her boyfriend devastated by rejection from a college football recruiter. “Your dreams are not dead: You’ve just grown out of them,” said Rachel, before dropping this not-so-subtle bombshell: “I’m going to give you something that no one else is ever gonna get.” Oh gurrrl! With that, Rachel went all Julia Roberts in Notting Hill — “I’m just a girl here with a boy that she loves, wanting to remember this moment for the rest of her life” — and the two “touched hands by the fireside,” if I’m not being too subtle. (Bonus points to Rachel for bringing her own condoms, like every modern girl should.)

And despite all the Kurt-Blaine/Rachel-Finn action, the episode found time to advance the story arcs of other ancillary characters, too: Bieste got to go on a date with the guy she’d long considered “the bees’ knees” — aforementioned football recruiter Cooter Menkins; Mike Chang and his floppy-coiffed dad disowned each other when he refused to quit his role in the school play; and Artie discovered that being a director (and getting support from his friends) made him feel like a man, not just a boy in a wheelchair. And that’s what you missed on Glee.

Now, with that out of the way let’s run through a couple of the episode’s choicest bits of dialogue:

* “Nah, but you can have the rest of my chili. There’s nothing left but gristle and a few beans, but it eats pretty good.” –Beiste cluelessly misinterpreting Cooter’s lunch-date invitation

* “Why did you leave Dalton? Were you bored with all the preppies around here, or is it that you broke too many hearts to stay?” –Sebastian, making a serious play for Blaine

* Kurt sharing that his bucket list includes “become CEO of LOGO” and “have relations on a dewy meadow of lilac with Taylor Lautner, before he gets fat.”

* Finn questioning Rachel’s readiness for sex: “Last time we talked, you said you wanted to wait till you won a Tony.”

* Rachel revealing that a trophy is a trophy is a trophy: “People’s Choice would’ve gotten you to third base.”

* “It was like being smothered by a sweaty, out-of-breath sack of potatoes that somebody soaked in body spray.” –Santana on sex with Finn

And finally, I know I usually assign grades for the week’s musical numbers, but this week, I just can’t separate the individual West Side Story numbers that were often inter-spliced with workaday McKinley scenes to heighten the dramatic effect of what was happening in the characters’ lives. I will say this: Santana and Rachel’s “A Boy Like That”/”I Have a Love” brought to ferocious life the dangers (Sebastian) and the tenderness (Finn) of teen love; their harmonies on “Tonight” were chill-inducing; and Santana & Co.’s “America” was joyously delicious. Only the Blaine-free Warblers’ “Uptown Girl” stood out as a weak link. Overall musical grade: A

What did you think of this week’s Glee? Which plot points made you happy, and which had you looking for a rewrite? What was your favorite musical number? Hit the comments with your thoughts, and for all my Glee recaps and commentary, follow me on Twitter @MichaelSlezakTV!

Everyone was really good this episode but, Max Adler and Chris rocked the gay bar scene. Their chemistry was amazing. I’m so glad Karofsky was back even for just a moment because that scene totally wasn’t closure it was the beginning.

the chemistry between Blaine and Sebastian was hot and Kurt and Dave together felt natural and sweet. Curt mega, Grant and Eddy were great with Uptown girl and the musical numbers were beautifully edited.
Artie was out of limits for the most part of this epi but the end was sweet. I´m really glad that they gave Tina an important ](and bigger than one line) speech.

btw. who else cried with mike chang?

As a mother i support glee talking about sex,self pleasure and LOVE. all that is part of being a Teen and kids need someone to talk about all that, and if parents wont do the job at least glee forums will open the discussion

No high school couple is really ‘functional’…most adult couples aren’t ‘functional’. its good that they show a realistic couple. Its dangerous for little girls to grow up thinking prince charming is real.

Really? So Blaine can be forgiven for NOT telling Kurt about Sebastian and meeting up for coffee, attack Kurt in the car after he said no, not apologize until Kurt shows up, and any good boyfriend would have kicked Sebastian to the curb. Certainly Dave would if in the same situation.

Let’s face it. Dave and Kurt have chemistry. And Dave would never deceive Kurt. Remember, Dave told Kurt the truth in their confrontation in BTW. He didn’t just sneek around like a coward.

friend? what are you smoking? sebastian made his true interest clear immediately and it wasn’t for frienship. and kurt wasn’t jealous, he was telling him to back off blaine. rightfully so. althought with the way blaine acted in this ep, maybe he and sebastian deserve eachother for their equal douche baggery.

But has Blaine ever shoved, assaulted and threatened to kill Kurt? I don’t know what episode you watched, but Blaine did not attack Kurt in the backseat of whomever owns that station wagon.

David, on the other hand, has repeatedly assaulted and in fact threatened to kill Kurt with malice and intent and without being intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol or some other narcotic. Those are very hard things to overcome on David’s part and to forgive on Kurt’s part. It’s akin to these women on soap operas who fall in love with their rapists and assailants. It’s just…gross.

I am not saying Max Adler and Chris Colfer don’t have chemistry, but the characters’ history is too thorny that I cannot see them being anything more than acquaintances or friends at most. I’d love to see David find love and happiness but not with Kurt. It’s just icky and compromises Kurt’s self-respect and self-esteem (though this is a Ryan Murphy show and those things didn’t matter in the characters over at “Nip/Tuck” from what I remember).

Why would Kurt want to be with someone who petrified and terrorized him to the point that he had to transfer to another school? How does one forget that? In addition, how many times did David Slushee Kurt and slam Kurt against the lockers of McKinley? And the pièce de résistance of course is David threatening to kill Kurt – literally and not as a figure of speech with the full presence of mind not clouded by drunkenness.

I don’t see how Blaine having coffee with Sebastian even comes close to the physical, psychological and emotional injuries that Kurt sustained at David’s hands. To compare what Blaine did in “The First Time” to the litany of sins that David committed against Kurt since the first episode is an apples and oranges comparison of two totally inapposite situations.

There can be redemption for David. But not through a romance with Kurt.

What Blaine did in this episode could be considered assault. Kurt said no how many times? Blaine never stopped-Kurt had to make him stop. The fact that Kurt slept with him right after this is even more disturbing and I found that it compromised Kurt’s self-respect more than a relationship with Dave ever did. When Dave kissed Kurt, Kurt put his hands up against his chest and Dave stopped. Blaine didn’t. His apology was half-assed and mostly involved Kurt apologizing to Blaine which was completely ridiculous. Dave broke down crying and apologized to Kurt. After this episode I’d really rather see Dave woo Kurt, as opposed to Blaine.

Really how is that assault? Is a real question please explain it to me.

Do you think couples always want to make out/ have sex all the time? People say no all the time, it is not assault.

Out of the car Blaine want it to kiss Kurt, but Kurt was just dealing IN THE RIGHT WAY with his half drunk boyfriend. Pulling Kurt into the car is assault????? How? Watch the scene again (with an open mind) when Kurt says stop, Blaine stops, Kurt is upset and jealous and Blaine is upset, and feels rejected and mad at himself for upseting Kurt, they obviously had a fight and apologize, I like that Kurt apologize for letting his “jealousy/protecting his territory” cloud his judgement (accepting the invitation), most time when people fight they always think they are right, and even though Blaine was wrong, and apologize for it, Kurt saw that he in a very minor (tiny in comparison) way was wrong too, they grew as a couple in this episode and that was lovely to see. I do agree that the fight, apology and sex story should have been separated from each other by more days or weeks.

And really?!?!?!?!?!?! “When Dave kissed Kurt, Kurt put his hands up against his chest and Dave stopped.” Are you serious?????? Kurt had to push Dave away, and push him again when he want it more, Am all for Karofsky finding happiness and peace, friendship Kurt, yes, please! But not love. Let him find someone maybe in a college far away.

I agree. Even were I to concede that Blaine “assaulted” Kurt, which I certainly do not, the fact remains that the type of “assault” to which David subjected is a million times worse than Blaine trying to kiss his boyfriend while he was drunk.

How many times did David raise his fist to Kurt? Even in that now infamous locker scene, Kurt challenged David to beat him up and instead, David violently kissed Kurt. Now, THAT was assault and battery – by any definitions of these words – plain and simple. If Blaine ever threatened Kurt’s life, then maybe these contentions that both David and Blaine “assaulted” Kurt may make sense but as of now, they’re just the stuff fanfics are made of and are not canon “Glee.”

@ Gerry
I love Blaine and Klaine, I don´t know if I qualify as a shipper, but I have never agree with the idea that Karofsky sexualy assaulted Kurt, that is too harsh for a stolen kiss, I can forgive the redemed bully but not forget it, I found it ironic when Dave spoke about looking for acceptance, when he made it so hard for Kurt, I in no way would like to see that relationship be develop in a romantic way.

Just to be clear on the terminology, I never said David “sexually assaulted” Kurt even though there is a colorable argument that his forcefully kissing Kurt constitutes “sexual assault” under U.S. laws.

I used only the word “assault,” which means a criminal act that causes the victim to fear physical violence and what David did to Kurt time and time again is textbook “assault.”

It was also “battery” because what David did was to touch Kurt unlawfully every single time David shoved and pushed Kurt into the lockers at McKinley. Even the kiss in the locker room arguably falls within the ambit of “battery,” to wit, David’s lips and hands touched Kurt unlawfully and offensively, as evidenced by how Kurt recoiled from David’s kiss and touch.

Karofsky did assault, harass and threaten Kurt. He also eventually stopped, apologized, showed extreme remorse and changed his behaviour, both for himself and to make amends. That Kurt was able to forgive him speaks to his compassion and strength. If Kurt were to fall in love with Dave, I doubt very much it would be owing to lack of self-respect or self-esteem. Kurt could never fall in love with someone who was bullying him. It’s totally possible, however, that he could fall in love with someone who used to bully him; someone who (conceivably) has a similar temperament (smart, direct) and different interests (sports, the arts).
As to Klaine, it’s never been appealing to me because it seems to me to diminish Kurt’s Kurtness, for lack of a better word. Although they worked through conflict over the Tony role, continually vying for the spotlight will always be a problem because that’s who they are. I find it depressing that Kurt’s been shown to be the one losing gracefully, apologizing for not being adventurous enough, expressing gratitude for having a boyfriend, and Blaine gets the role, the heroic welcome at Dalton, the aggressive suitor … and the free pass for manhandling his boyfriend despite several very clear “no”s.

That makes no sense. That would be analogous to a person who was gay bashed but that person doesn’t fall in love with their gay basher during the act of bashing but may do so down the road after completion of the crime and after the self-hating gay basher says, “I’m sorry!”? What is that about?

And let’s not forget that those amends that David made were initially insincere because he was being bullied and blackmailed by Santana. Yes, he had that breakdown during the prom episode. But if David had any balls and really wanted to make amends with Kurt, then he ought to have danced with Kurt at the prom instead of further embarrassing and humiliating Kurt AGAIN and leaving him alone at the prom until Blaine came along to dance with Kurt. I just don’t get this syndrome of falling with your abuser. It’s not healthy in real life and that wouldn’t be a good thing to show teens as an acceptable relationship because it does undermine the victim’s, here Kurt’s, self-esteem and self-respect were he to fall in love with someone who physically, psychologically and emotionally tortured and tormented him. I would think Kurt would be more protective of himself not to mention how Burt would be so against his son falling for someone who had threatened his life in the past.

Plus, Kurt is high-falutin’ and proud: why the hell would he forget David’s affronts against him? He may be able to forgive but to forget the abuse that he suffered at David’s hands and fall in love with him? That’s not the Kurt whose confidence and pride in himself have grown since the show began.

“it does undermine the victim’s, here Kurt’s, self-esteem and self-respect were he to fall in love with someone who physically, psychologically and emotionally tortured and tormented him” Completely disagree with the level of hyperbole here. Glee framed the bullying as bullying, which developed overtones of sexual harassment before Kurt got himself out of there. Shortly thereafter, Kurt stopped allowing himself to be a victim. He had the power to out Karofsky, but decided not to owing to his understanding of Karofsky’s confusion. Compassion. It exists. There exchange at Scandals showed them connecting on equal footing, as two gay guys who share a complicated history and an interest in each other’s happiness. If the writers DO decide to go the romance route, I’m sure Kurt would question himself. Heck, I’d love to see how he’s respond to a friend accusing him of delayed Stockholm syndrome. And now I’m going to back away slowly, because I don’t get the feeling we’re going to be able to come to any kind of agreement here.

Um…in all honesty most of the kids I knew in high school sneaked into bars and clubs all the time with fake id’s and I went to a private Christian school! And if they weren’t getting their liquor in clubs and bars, they were raiding their parents cabinets or getting upperclassman to get it for them!It’s more common in HS then you’d think.

I loved it. The only things I found silly (the “uptown girl” they all danced around and going back to Anita/Maria ages later during one of the montages) are not even important. They did my favorite number, America (Puck was so fun as Bernardo). And Darren Criss said masturbation. What are ovaries? And why are Chris Colfer and Lea Michele so fantastic? And Cory was too. I’m actually sad for Finn (though he got laid). Karofsky was amazing. As was everything about the gay bar scene.

Wow. Sometimes I wonder if we are all watching the same show, due to so many different views. So, I’ll give mine. I am a huge Darren Criss fan and am blown away by all the Blaine haters out there. But that’s just me. This was written well, the music was good, the acting was really good tonight. I was touched and it did what it needed to do~Get people talking. I liked the Warblers, and yes, even Sebastion. I liked how the music pushed the show. Blaine was a bit of a jerk, he stated he was wrong. Kurt was right in being vocal about how he felt, it ended very reasonable. The writing has always been very consistant in showing exactly how he feels about Kurt, caring and loving him deeply…nothing has changed or varied in that sense. The stage scene was my favorite of the night, very romantic. Rachel and Finn were there for each other when they needed to be. Typical of them…she was selfish and then came around and he was sweet about it. I also liked the funny one liners from Rory and Puck. Tina’s confession was honest. My heart broke for Mike with his absent dad. Really people what do you want?? Glee is a great show. It makes me look forward to Tuesdays!! Another A+, but that is just my opinion.

Usually, I enjoy reading through the comments posted about my favorite tv shows, but sadly, I didn’t even make it halfway through the first page before I was skipping any comment that had the word Dave in it. I get that Max’s fans want him back, but his character is just a male version of Santana. I think one bully struggling with their sexuality is enough for one show. I’d much rather see her character reform than his since I’m more invested in her character after all this time.

Ah and there you see is a difference of opinion. I usually can’t read these commentaries because everyone one goes on and on about Blaine, he’s a good character and Darren does a great job, but I find him very one dimensional as a character.

I’m vested in BOTH Santana and Dave because I think any storyline that has a character that comes to have self acceptance and self love is a good one. There aren’t enough shows on t.v. that portray that in my opinion. And with teenagers living in the times they do right now, they need those storylines as much as we can get them.

I think the biggest difference between Santana and Dave is that Santana is an unrepentant bully who’s more or less accepted herself but isn’t coming out because it’s an inconvenient thing for her to do. As long as she stays in the closet she can act however she likes.

Dave, on the other hand, became a bully out of vengeance and then when he pushed it too far and found himself out on his backside went through a lot of stumbles and falls to turn things around. Many of those things he was manipulated into doing by someone even meaner than him (Santana), but once he had the opportunity to make things right, he did it honestly and with integrity. Dave is actually making real changes while Santana goes about being exactly what she’s always been. Both characters have relevant stories and both of them should be told.

I loved the Scandals scene. It was sweet and a bit heartbreaking, too. I was relieved to see Dave has been making “baby steps” towards self-acceptance and peace, since the last he was scene was running out of his junior prom, distraught. He seemed a bit lonely, though. I’m rooting for him so hard and I’d really love to see his journey. Kurt’s strength and forgiving nature is wonderful. And I agree with so many others-Chris and Max have great chemistry. They need more scenes together, as they have the most nuanced characters and complex relationship. Plus, I agree with Chris, why can’t someone pursue Kurt for a change? I really did like Sebastian, but I think Dave’s story would be more compelling than a twink love triangle.

Why should Leah Michele be Natalie Wood (who was overrated as Maria) and Naya Rivera be Rita Moreno (who was, definitely, great as Anita)? Besides, Leah and Naya were playing high school girls performing WWS in a high school production.

Correct. Marni Nixon, not Natalie Wood, was the singing voice of Maria in the film version of “West Side Story.” Ms. Nixon was also the singing voice in the film versions of “The King And I” and “My Fair Lady.”

Naya Rivera and Mark Salling did a great job with “America” and even though they were sung in lower keys, Darren Criss and Lea Michele delivered decent versions of “Tonight” and “One Hand, One Heart.”

But when Naya and Lea sang “A Boy Like That/I Have A Love,” that’s when the music soared: it was sung in the correct key and we finally heard Lea use the legit soprano part of her voice, which was complimented by Naya’s belty Anita. As far as the use of musicals go, “The First Time’s” use of “West Side Story” as background in addition to propel story did a superior job to last year’s “Rocky Horror” episode. Great stuff.

People really getting passionate about this show. My thoughts: I think “Glee” has gone so far off base from their original theme that drew everyone in, it’s hard to believe it’s the same show. This is not why I started watching. I don’t mind dealing with relevant issues in a smart way, etc. But this show doesn’t do that really either. Too bad.

Finally a good episode. It wasn’t a cartoon, it was real. Its not about whether Shue and Sue are in it or not, they’re never real. Most of the season, these characters haven’t had anything real to do. This episode was completely different…real emotions, real reactions. It was rich, full, complex and again…finally good.

Honestly, I had to stop watching for a moment once Karofsky came on my screen – I knew that he would be on it and I tried to make myself ready for him, but seeing that character is such a trigger to me, no matter if he said he was sorry. A lot of glee fans try to make the whole reasons why Kurt/Karofsky shouldn’t happen into a ship war, but what I don’t think people understand is how big of a trigger the Kurtofsky relationship is. It’s a huge one for so many people who watch Glee.

Thinking about the idea of a relationship between Kurt and Karofsky makes me (and so many others) physically ill. Glee made light of something that was actually dark and disturbing, and it was so very wrong of them to do that.

If Glee ever entertains the idea of a Kurt/Karofsky relationship, I’ll be through with it, hands down.

“Glee made light of something that was actually dark and disturbing.” Like Rachel sending Sunshine to a crack house? Like Blaine almost forcing himself on Kurt? Different things trigger different people. Just because you happen to be triggered by a character doesn’t mean the writers should write the story to fit your personal needs. Glee is a TV show meant to entertain not a daycare. If Karofsky disturbs you, by all means turn of your TV and walk away. It’s no loss.

It actually would be a loss to the TV station seeing as how much the GA loves Kurt and Blaine – to see them go would mean a whole bunch of people would stop watching Glee, as many only watch the show for Kurt and Blaine.

And I agree, those were dark as well, I never said that they weren’t and I didn’t bring them up because I was talking about the kind of bullying that Karofsky put Kurt through – Glee just makes light of things that shouldn’t. And I wasn’t saying that they should fit it for me, just like they shouldn’t write in a storyline to appease the fans.

‘The station would lose a lot of views’, I think you’re mostly talking about the really intense Klaine fans from fandom. Honestly, in the big picture they don’t count for much. Glee is already suffering from bad ratings, if Klaine isn’t making people stick around they’re going to try storylines that do. You don’t want the writers to pander to you? That’s exactly what they’re doing by continuing a frankly boring relationship when there are way more interesting possibilities that could be explored.

Glee was doing better ratings-wise before the Starkids and Darren stans popped in to ruin the fandom. You’re hugely overestimating how many people “only” watch the show for Klaine. Plenty of teenage girls are obsessed with them, but the adult general audience doesn’t care nearly as much as you think it does.

Let’s set aside the whole Kurt/Dave relationship argument for a moment, because in all honesty I just want to see Dave’s story and him realize self acceptance and love.
Do you feel that any person that struggled with that dark aspect of themselves could not eventually redeem themselves? That they could change and want to be a better person? And succeed in doing so?
Because I think that there have been people like that out there, that have changed for the better. That have managed through therapy and self acceptance to better not only themselves, but make a difference in others lives as well.
I understand a lot of people feel the whole aspect of what went down was triggering in many respects. But what I don’t understand is that people can’t, or don’t want to, imagine a person like that realizing the self destructiveness of what they are doing and wanting to change!
Any time a person brings up the fact the Karofsky is a trigger for them (and this is not directed solely at you), all I see being written is they don’t care that he apologized or is trying to change. When I feel that, that is the turning point for a lot of people who act that way and go to those extremes.
The fact that they acknowledge what they did was wrong, they apologize for it, and then they try to change and redeem themselves. Why is it so hard to accept that? I’d like to know your opinion on this because I’m trying to understand your point of view.

I am very glad that he was able to redeem himself, I can’t lie. I’m so very glad that he did that it really made me long for the apology that I deserve from my own Karofsky. However, it doesn’t get rid of what he did. Having dark problems with yourself does not give you a reason to lash out, nor does it excuse assault and harassment.

The problem with having him as a trigger is not that I don’t care that he did/is trying to change, because I do. I wish that there were more people out there like that – the problem is that it brings up memories for people, memories that make it hard to say “this guy did apologize”, because it takes us back to our own situation, and once you’re locked in those memories, it’s really hard to feel even remotely sorry for the guy.an

It’s really hard to explain something that is so personal on many levels, but the hard thing is, redemption for that kind of thing is not something that can just happen with a single apology. Maybe if there had been more scenes involving his redemption it would be easier to grasp. Therapy for this takes years, and it’s not easily fixed. Karofksy’s road is long, and (this is just me, but I’m also mad that Glee is shoving him aside, but with this kind of topic, maybe it is good that they did; there’s a high chance that they could ruin the story line) it’s going to, like he himself did, take a lot of baby steps to fix.

I’m sorry if this doesn’t make a lot of sense (and it probably doesn’t – it’s way late and I’ve been up for over forty-eight hours), because I can only tell you so much without telling my personal story, which I’m not really willing to share. There are so many other people, though, who can tell you their own reasons (and probably be more articulate); they could probably be of more use.

I just thank you for replying and doing so without calling me something rude *smiles*
Like I said I was just trying to understand. I did get bullied in school, although not for anything like my orientation and certainly not to the extent shown on the show.
Thank you for trying to explain the best you can without going too much into your own personal life. It at least gives me a clearer understanding of the memories overcoming you and interfering with the acceptance of a person’s redemption. Regardless if you forgive them or not. I agree it would take years of therapy to overcome something like that, but with the briefness of a t.v. show and the time constraints, I’d like to think they are at least trying to do an admiral job of showing that he is coming to grips with it all.
Again thanks for replying!

Every week, I care less and less about Glee. This show used to make me laugh. I love that they treat a gay relationship exactly the same as a hetero relationship, but isn’t this show supposed to be funny? It feels more and more like an after-school special. And this episode had one of my least favorite Glee scenes ever – Artie talking to Beiste about her being a virgin. Utterly ridiculous. There is not a student ever that would ask a teacher that. Ridiculous. Come on, Glee! Rewatch your first season and get back to being good!!

I have to agree with you Maureen. I liked Glee because it was fun. It was one cool, silly, musical comedy that made me laugh and have a good time. Now, I feel like I am watching a soap opera, which I seriously dislike. Sigh! So much talent, so many missed opportunities… But, to be honest, I am still watching in the hopes we’ll get our funny, quirky, enjoyable and witty Glee back.

I completely agree. This show was about having fun and music, but all these intese drama situations don’t feel like Glee to me. And the fact that pretty much they all lost their virginity kinda makes you feel awkward if you haven’t done it yet…

Glee was NEVER intended to be for a younger viewing audience. That’s why it was originally on at 9 pm. It wasn’t until the tweens and teens fell in love with the show in a fanatical way that things changed (and for the WORSE)I might add. Story lines got dumbed down and the dark comedy and story telling became more and more after school special like.

But I agree about continuity. It’s like the writers are allergic to the word lol

I loved Uptown Girl! I’ve listened to it about 20 times in the last 3 days, its just an absolutely fun-loving scene that I think really fitted Blaine’s journey in the episode and seeing his old friends. The other songs may be emotional and connected and all that, but this is one I’d listen to and dance to all day.

It was great to see Dave again but it was not enough. I want to see him take those baby steps and have friends and sing or find soemthing that truly makes him happy. Max Adler shined in those few seconds he got on screen and it woudl be such a waste not to take advantage of such talent

Why are all these losers complaining about Glee’s sex episode? the last I checked all teen shows have their teens do it. If you hate it so much maybe you shouldn’t be watching television to begin with.

I don’t get it either. There are worse “offenders” if you will on THE CW alone, which has a slew of trashy shows aimed at kids and teens that go further in terms of graphic sex on network television. Lots of those shows don’t even portray sex in loving relationships like “Glee” did last night and quite tamely at that.

I really wish Mike’s story lines lasted longer than 15 minutes or in this episode his total runtime was 5 minutes. I felt that the fact that his father isn’t at a work just to scold him doesn’t make too much sense. does he work at home or something? If I was his dad I’d blow up at him once he got home.

I’m glad Mike has a story but is it wishful thinking to have an episode with him and tina at the forefront I mean the episode Asian-F was supposed to be his episode but it mainly focused on Mercedes the entire episode. If that was the case maybe they should’ve called it “Diva”

on a side note, I think Tina’s story to Rachel about her first time was sweet. And I think that’s the way most teens should think about it.

I enjoyed seeing Finn and Rachel’s relationship progress in the way it did, and how careful Finn was to make sure she was ready. Finn breaking down about his dreams becoming unachievable was also well done. Cory did amazing. I thought many of the Kurt and Blaine scenes were well done, however from what we know of Kurt I don’t think he was ready, and I would have liked the show to represent that not all teens have sex in high school – I know many who didn’t. Kurt and Blaine could have taken steps to be more intimate, but going all the way felt out of character.

The only scene I liked Artie in was the last one, where he confessed how happy directing made him. Aside from that I found him nosy and out of place. He was in no position to meddle in Beiste’s love life – no matter how well that turned out – and to make Rachel and Blaine feel like they needed to have sex was just offensive.

Though Mike’s scenes felt out of place and rather stuffed in, I did enjoy them and liked seeing the progression of his storyline with his parents. I look forward to seeing where this goes.

My favourite scene in total was when Kurt ran into ex-bully Dave Karofsky in the gay bar. Dave looked so happy, and it made me happy. Maybe he isn’t out, but he has found a place he belongs. The chemistry between Chris and Max was outstanding and at times better than what Chris and Darren have. I would love to see their friendship explored more, ad would find a romance very interesting should it come to that. It would be nice to see someone pine after Kurt for once. He deserves it, but he’s always been the one doing the chasing before. Someone needs to make him feel special, and with Sebastian around and losing Rachel’s friendship I don’t think his year has been too magical so far.

” thought many of the Kurt and Blaine scenes were well done, however from what we know of Kurt I don’t think he was ready, and I would have liked the show to represent that not all teens have sex in high school – I know many who didn’t. Kurt and Blaine could have taken steps to be more intimate, but going all the way felt out of character.”

Thank you! Finally someone who understands and isnt like “omg they had sex im so happy for them” … Kurt was definitley not ready. Nor Rachel, for that matter.

One of the best Glee episodes ever. So beautifully done. So much appreciation for it on almost every level—story, acting, directing, music, dance, and absolute attention to every detail. This, tonight was the show I fell in love with and I’m so very delighted to see it come back!!!!

A litany of appreciation:

Loved that Artie and Tina & the musical were the catalysts for this whole thing.

Loved hearing an Artie voice over for the first time!!!!

Loved the Tina/Artie interactions, fleeting as they were, and the continued tie-in of Artie finding and pursuing a new dream with Tina’s help and encouragement (yes, I like Tina & Mike together, but I’ll always be rooting for Tartie).

The Artie appreciation moment was sweet, although pretty unnecessary to the show and could have been cut without any loss to the story, (and seriously, Glee, what is with with the male characters continually needing to affirm the importance of being taught how to be/feeling like a man???).

Great attention to detail in the episode with the return of Glee’s fantastic background props and small touches that show so much thought and intentionality—

the club posters on the bulletin board
the old boom box used by the Warblers to indicate music from the 80s (Glee did a great job in S2 of having music from older eras played on record players, old boom boxes or cassette decks, etc. to indicate the era of the song)
Kurt’s bucket list inclusions—still making fun of getting into Julliard, arriving at school in a hot air balloon, and all others
the “Rachel Berry Special Mix” music for the dinner Finn made her
Artie wearing suspenders patterned with figures (Jack, Queen, King) from a hearts suit of a deck of cards when telling the recruiter to ask Beiste out
calling the gay club ‘Scandals’
having Rachel wear a beret for the scene when she realizes she wants to be with Finn, tying back to her beret wearing in 2×10 “A Very Glee Christmas” when she wanted him and he rejected her and her wearing a beret in 2×22 when he wanted her and she was hesitant.

AND BRAD THE PIANO MAN WAS SHOWN WALKING, I THINK FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!!!! (We saw him scoot in a wheelchair in 1×09 Wheels, but I never recall seeing him when he wasn’t sitting down before. Maybe once he stood in place behind a keyboard, but there was no movement.)

Sebastian Smythe, clearly from the house of Slytherin (he was even wearing a green striped shirt at the bar), was awesome, as was the ominous background music that accompanied his speeches. The character will be a good, villainous inclusion, and I loved how they contraposed him with Santana during the “A Boy Like That” number to parallel his role vis a vis Kurt/Blaine to Santana’s vis a vis Rachel/Finn.

The way Rachel’s & Santana’s number retold the rivalry/tension/history between them and their relationship to Finn was solid gold, and those two actresses, the two characters, and their voices, were perfect for the roles of Anita and Maria in every way. I love how that song was used not just to show Santana’s threatening/trouble-causing moments but to also show her thinking about the person she loves, and whether & how she can/will choose to be with her.

The Puck/Finn locker room talk was a fantastic moment, including the flash of dialogue from Puck showing that the friendship between Puck & Rachel lives on, and it was a great use of Puck’s character to provide spot-on humor.

The Beiste/Cooter stuff was good—the locker room scene went on a bit too long, primarily because most of it was a repeat of Beiste repeating the same things that she cried about in 2×06 Never Been Kissed when talking to Will, but the way they told this part of a story between adults fit well with the tone of the show—it enhanced it rather than overwhelming or detracting.

TINA FOR ALL THE WINS AS THE VOICE SHARING WHAT INTENTIONAL, CARING RELATIONSHIPS CAN BE LIKE! Hurray for awesome use of Tina!!!

Loved the hallway memory scenes of Rachel & Finn during this part, recalling the 2×02 scene as Rachel sang “The Only Exception” and recalling her imagining of Finn’s face as she sang “My Man” as she realized that she did, truly and fully, want to be with Finn because she loves him, and because being with him will be perfect because they love each other, so the opinions of others are needless.

Good inclusion of Mike’s story in the episode—it both showed continuity to what was started in 3×03 and moved the story along w/o it overwhelming the episode.

Karofsky! :) Good to see him relatively at peace, to know where he’s gone to, and to state the message about just trying to make it through high school—so important as a message to those who, for very real and important reasons, need to do what it takes to survive. (Interesting that they dressed him to look like Burt; not sure what it was supposed to mean, but it was interesting.)

Liked how they showed the Hudmel brothers setting limits on what they wanted the experience to be like for them; while Glee’s attitudes toward women, especially women and relationships/sexuality, can frequently make me scream, I do appreciate that they’ve always shown that sex/relationships are/can be meaningful for guys, rather than just playing the trope of “all guys want sex and will do anything to get it whenever and with whomever they can.”

The Finn stuff crying in the shower was epic—incredibly powerful, especially the way they just showed the moment and waited until the end to reveal what it was about. Cory Monteith in about 15 seconds delivered a lifetime’s worth of emotion, and the camera shot with the water fall down from his face was a brilliant directorial choice.

Santana and Puck in America were perfect; it was icing on the cake of the episode to see the two of them playing those roles and, because they were acting as characters in the number, interacting in that aggressively flirtatious way; a very nice use of, reference to, and continuation of the story the two of them have shared on Glee. The filming of that entire musical number was spectacular, as were all of the West Side Story numbers. Kudos to Zach Woodlee, Brooke, and the choreographers.

I loved the line Rachel was given about her and Finn being soul mates who, against all odds, found each other. This is the Finchel relationship that Glee has been telling from the beginning in a nutshell.

Interspersing the musical numbers with the story was E X C E L L E N T—-best use of music all season, and some of the best use of music the show has EVER done. REMEMBER THIS GLEE—THIS IS HOW YOU SO POWERFULLY LET THE STORY DICTATE THE SONG CHOICES AND USE THE SONGS TO FORWARD THE STORY!!!!

And the four WSS numbers were vocally stunning and perfectly produced; everything enhanced the natural voices without any distraction or detraction. Hats off to Adam Anders & his crew for this.

The two relationship stories were done beautifully as well. I’m still not exactly sure of why Kurt made the choice that he wanted to sleep with Blaine in the end, unless it was just that he had grown up from his hesitancy to be intimate and was simply ready to take the next step. Showing him stopping things when Blaine was drunk and Kurt was angry was a great use of story to get a message across, and there wasn’t a sense at the end that he was making this choice because he felt jealous or threatened, so I guess he just wanted to do this and to make this connection.

The Finchel story was primarily told from Rachel’s point of view (see my quibbles below, because again they shorted Finn’s stuff, although not nearly like they’ve been doing in 3×01-3×03 and, to some extent, in 3×04), and they did a great job of providing a very-Rachel-Berry like initial motivation & a classic old-school Glee “Rachel messes up moment”—and what made it wonderful was that they didn’t leave it there—they let us see her learn from her mistake AND take action to rectify it AND succeed in doing so, thus showing Rachel’s growth and maturation as a character. Having her reconvene the girl-advice-group was a nice touch, especially since they added in her commentary on hoping this time the advice would be more useful than it was in 1×15. I still regret that Glee totally dropped the Rachel Berry we saw in 1×02 Showmance who declared out loud that girls want sex just as much as guys do; I think it would have been best if we’d seen her not needing to seek advice because the Rachel Glee has shown us has always known she wanted to have sex with Finn and that she wanted him to be her first—it was there in 1×02; it was there in 1×08 when she first started to say but stopped and then later confessed to Puck, that she’d couldn’t be with someone other than Finn; it was there in 1×15 as the reason she didn’t sleep with Jesse; they had her vocalize it in 2×03 when she told Finn she wanted them to go the distance (nice reference back to the Tony comment and humorous inclusion of the other awards would have gotten you to 3rd base); she said it again in 2×08. So she shouldn’t have had to go to others for advice on this—it’s been at the core of her character from the start, and playing her as a prude has always been off-note. But that’s how they chose to go with the story, and it gave the show the opportunity to use Tina’s speech, and Rachel’s reactions during it, as a way of making absolutely clear that this is Rachel’s definite, intentional, desired choice, and that she wants to be with Finn because she loves him, because it is right, because they are right, and because it is utterly and completely what she wants as a girl in love with a boy who wants to be with him and share a perfect moment with him.

And the sex scenes were tender and sweet and lovely and sexy (and could have been much more realistic if we didn’t have to see all the guys with their pants fully on, but instead could have been shown the edited out shot of Finn fully under the covers. As I note below, I’m guessing that was dictated by FOX’s censors—‘cause in an entire episode about sex, God forbid we should show a couple under the covers. What would the children think?).

Only 4 real quibbles with the episode:

1. While the Warblers sounded nice as usual (I should say the Tufts Beelzebubs, since they are the ones who actually sing the bulk of the music), the song was, as usual for the Warblers, almost totally irrelevant to the story—especially the intrusion of hot-teacher-woman-who-I’m-sure-flirts-with-the-students-at-an-all-boys-school-like-that. But the rest of the episode was so good, and the rest of the music was so good, that this doesn’t annoy me like it normally does. If the Warblers keep popping up with irrelevant numbers that do nothing to tell the story, especially now that Kurt isn’t at Dalton to give at least some rational excuse for our seeing them on Glee, I’ll continue to critique that musical choice.

2. They cut Finn scenes again. Not sure how many, but we know some of the Finchel scene at the end got cut (to be fair, they certainly shot much more than they ever would or could have aired of both couples (can you say “Director’s Cut”? I know I can!), but once again they did a promo of that scene and then dropped it, which is frustrating, although I supposed I should be glad that it aired and we saw it at all. The hands over Finn’s heart that echoed Showmance, and Rachel tugging at the collar of Finn’s t-shirt, were perfect in the promo, and I’m going to go ahead and include them in the show’s canon even though I’m usually hesitant to do that with cut scenes). As I noted above, this edit was possibly because the FOX censors insisted that we see all the boys with their pants on so that parents of small children could pretend nothing happened rather than asking themselves why they’re letting their prepubescent kids watch this show.

And the entire scene with Finn/Will got cut—maybe due to the number of fan comments ahead of time that Finn talking to Will about this was kind of creepy, which it would have been, or maybe to show other scenes (in which case I go back to saying they could have cut down on the Beiste/Cooter locker room scene, on the Artie appreciation scene bcs his stress was pretty much groundlessly manufactured and thus didn’t give the payoff the appreciation moment should have given, or the irrelevant Warblers’ number). So while I hate on principle that they continue to cut Finn stuff, at least cutting this scene was good from reducing an ick factor.

But it meant we lost the opportunity to hear Finn declare his love for Rachel and to speak about what having sex with her would mean to him. I think Glee missed a real opportunity to have Finn speak about wanting it to mean something to him this time as a follow up on the absolutely stellar moment from 1×15 when, after sleeping with Santana, Finn commented that he didn’t feel anything because it hadn’t meant anything. There could have been a real, genuine, awesome tie-back to that and Glee passed on the opportunity. Frankly, instead of having this conversation with Will, Glee should have written a scene between Finn and Kurt when they sought each other’s advice—maybe in the context of Finn trying to arrange for Kurt to be out of the house when Rachel came over—and discussed if they were ready and why they were or weren’t. Then we could have heard both brothers talking about their feelings in a natural way, which would have both served the romance stories and would have strengthened the brotherly relationship story (and the dropping of the Kurt/Finn interactions has been one of Glee’s biggest mistakes since early Season Two, because Cory & Chris play those dynamics so powerfully and deliver flawless performances). It could have been a win-win all around, had they chosen to go that route.

3. The recruitment story was impeccably acted and was very strong in and of itself. But because Glee has been dropping Finn’s story in 3×01, 3×02, 3×03, 3×04 and have not been showing us Finn struggling with his dreams & imagining what his future might be, it lacked the impact that this story should have and cheated us out of part of what was clearly a huge, pivotal moment in his story. The lack of story wasn’t due to Cory—he more than delivered everything he was given (except by flubbing up and referring to his mom as Carole instead of “mom” in the final scene), and his range of emotions throughout this episode, especially in the final scenes, once again showed in a very short, compacted amount of time how incredibly strong of an actor Cory Monteith is.

The lack in the story was due to the writers and editors, who have neglected in S3 to tell us that Finn has been dreaming about and banking on getting a football scholarship, and who have neglected to show us that he’s been hesitant to tell Rachel about this dream because, if fulfilled, it would mean they wouldn’t be in the same place. We heard Burt mention it in passing while he and Carole focused on pushing the running the tire shop future in 3×04, but we haven’t hear Finn mention this at all since 1×04 Preggers. Not a word from him about it since 1×04, over two years ago (in 1×05 he was working on a music scholarship), which means we were robbed of the full experience of empathizing with Finn’s gut-wrenching disappointment at losing the opportunity because we weren’t shown the scenes when he was longing for this chance and seeing it as his ticket out of being stuck as a Lima loser. And we never saw him thinking that he wanted to get into NYADA or trying to get in or hoping to get it or doing anything to show that he saw this as part of his future—we only heard what feels like a totally out of context moment in 3×02 when Finn said he might not want to go to NYADA. And while his outburst referenced not being able to sing well enough to get into NYADA, we haven’t been shown him having an experience that convinced him to think he wasn’t good enough to get in, so we were robbed of the story behind that half of his very powerful outburst here in 3×05.

The line about Finn having outgrown his old dreams and needing to find new ones was a great line, but we were cheated of the experience of seeing him develop and dream those dreams, and were therefore cheated of what should have been a full and utter investment in the heartbreak of having those dreams ripped away from him. This has been a huge part of my beef with Glee this season as far as Finn’s character has gone—I haven’t been lamenting his absence simply because I like the character and I like the actor who plays the character (although I do like both, very much); I’ve been lamenting—no, I’ve been furious—about them not showing the development of Finn’s story because it can’t be fully built upon and have the impact it should when the foundation for the story keeps getting cut out of the show.

So my plea to Glee from here on out: keep telling us Finn’s story as he develops these new dreams to replace the old ones we were deprived of seeing him dream! DON’T drop his story again; show it to us, tell it to us, in big scenes and, if he isn’t the focus of an episode, in consistent, connected, forward-moving scenes like the ones with Mike in 3×05. Finn’s story is some of the absolute best stuff you write and portray on the show; don’t cheat yourselves of the opportunity to tell this great story, and don’t cheat us as the viewers out of seeing it!

4. I loved everything about Rachel’s speech to Finn at the end except for the line about her knowing Finn is special because she’s going to give himself something no one else will ever get—yet another Glee chauvinistic reference to a woman’s virginity as a thing/a prize. The reference came across to me as Rachel almost patronizing Finn—like they were showing her giving an upset child a toy to distract him from his sorrow, and something didn’t sit right with the way that the used that as the supposed proof to convince Finn that Rachel knows he’s special—from all we’ve seen of the growth and development of this relationship and of the two characters over the course of 49 episodes, Finn knows that Rachel feels that way w/o needing “proof.”

The show immediately redeemed the moment by having Finn tell her that she didn’t need to do this and by giving Rachel the chance to redeem her earlier misstep as she responded with quiet intensity that she loved him and wanted to be with him; it was a moment perfectly written and acted by Lea and Cory both. And the interposing of “One Hand, One Heart” with the scenes of the two couples was super-extraordinary. I loved how the Finn/Rachel “tethering” theme from 2×21 Funeral was subtly referenced by showing them together during the singing of the lyrics “only death can part us now” and then, at the very end, “even death won’t part us now” — pure perfection and Glee at its best.

So now I’m hoping that Glee has got its groove back and we’ll be seeing lots of future awesomeness to come. Thanks to all connected with the show for a super-fantastic 44 minutes of TV and for telling this story so wonderfully and so well; “The First Time” is an episode I’ll watch over and over and over and over and over, and I deeply appreciation all of the obvious care and love the creators of the show put into making “The First Time” a nearly perfect time of television viewing

So good to see Dave Karofsky back on Glee, to see him happy and confortable in a gay bar was amazing! I can’t wait to see more of his story, and maybe watch him become confortable enough to be himself not only in the safe enviroment of a gay bar.

and that’s where he ran into former bully Karofsky, who revealed he’d transferred to a new school to experience a “normal senior year without people hearing rumors about me.” Was that some budding chemistry between two former enemies whose names begin with ‘K’? The story is developing…

For me Max Adler’s reappearance after a six month dry spell wasn’t just the highlight of this episode, it was the highlight of this season so far. It’s been incredibly unfortunate that the writers have been ignoring Dave Karofsky’s story in favor of stories with a lot less depth and a heck of a lot more vapid drama. It would be a shame to see them brush him off with that tiny (but extremely well acted and beautifully shot) scene and be done with him. It’s obvious that while he was pleased to see Kurt (and yes, there is something developing there and I think everyone can see that) but that he has yet to truly come to grips with his sexuality. He’s still in hiding and he still doesn’t know how to function as an out and proud young man and he doesn’t seem to feel like he ever will be.

Not to mention the chemistry between him and Kurt is utterly astounding. I find myself riveted by their every scene together and they manage to say so much without talking a lot at all. Such spectacular acting would be a shame to waste as well. Chris and Max often work head and shoulders above many of the other actors on this show of very talented people when they’re together.

I think Dave has a lot of room to grow on this show both as an individual and a potential romantic partner for Kurt.

I haven’t watched yet because I am so frustrated where this season is going… two glee clubs, Puck kissing Shelby, that I couldn’t get anyone in my house to watch it with me.

I am sure we will as the topic is interesting and having volunteered on a teen AIDS hotline many years ago, I always think more information is better than none. I bet RM handled the writing well on that, just hate what some of the characters have become.

Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith really brought the A game. Cory for his break down scene, and frankly Chris was mesmerizing in every single one of his scenes tonight. I love Lea, but I like her comedic acting more so than her dramatic which was awkward at times tonight. Max was fantastic in his scene too–hope we see more of him, though I’m not interested in a romance between his character and Kurt. Darren was okay, not as bad as he’s been in the past so that’s an improvement. It’s a shame that Blaine was completely obnoxious and unsympathetic in this ep, frankly turned me even more off his character than I already was.

I really thought the best scene of this entire episode was the interaction between Kurt and Dave and the bar. I mean, out of all the actors on that show (and there are a lot), Chris Colfer and Max Adler are by far the strongest. The chemistry in that scene was electrifying and more interaction between the two would only work to raise the show to another level for me. It was amazing to see how much the two of them could say to eachother without even using words.

I loved this episode for one thing really and that was seeing Kurt and Dave in the gay bar scene. It was so awesome to get to see Dave again. He’s one of my favorite characters! I hope we get to see him again soon, that would be beyond amazing in my opinion!

Kurt said “no” “wait” “stop” more than 10 times in the car scene. It was legitimately triggering for me. I am absolutely horrified that behavior like that can be excused with “I’m sorry, I was drunk.” Blaine had one beer. He was in control of himself. He did that, and then had the nerve to get mad AT KURT. I’m sorry, I’m sick of seeing Kurt forgive everything this douchebag does, especially something like this that’s unforgivable. They’re really turning his character into something I don’t like at all.

I´m sorry that you have something in your past the could be trigger from that scene. But is was not that bad, as some here say, assault, really? Blaine stoped, when Kurt said stop, there was not force, pushing or unwillingness to take the other persons feelings or desires into account, and he later apologize for making his BF feel uncomfortable, I loved what they said to each in the apology, and the final parts where lovely, the devolopment of their story was code very nice.

Kurt reacted how I would have reacted in that situation, but that does not mean that there is only one side of the story, Blaine was mad at Kurt (for yelling at him) and at himself (for upsetting Kurt), and I think he was also felling rejected, and the fact that the guy he loves was telling him that he didn´t care about him or their first time did not help.

Best parts of this episodes?
1) The Kurtofsky scene in the gay bar: so honest, sweet and heartwarming.
2) Bieste and everything she choose to be.
3) Seblaine. They really share a huge amount of chemistry!

I need more of the above! A Kurtofsky romance, a development for Beiste’s romance and progressions for Seblaine and I will watch this show regularly again!

I think the reason why there’s some people saying no to a kurtofsky romance is because the show has yet to show any real material where such could even be a potentioal option. Get Karofsky to come back, do the PFLAG, and let them become friends. Maybe then, even if show cannot change the views of people with other ships…the show WILL broaden the minds of the other 85% of viewers that could give a crap about fandoms and what they will see is a great message on acceptance and great television. Give Chris and Max that chance to show just how talented of actors they are!! They convinced me of its possibility exactly one year ago…the kiss of NBK just had sooo much power and passion…with Kurt and Dave finding acceptance amongst themselves TOGETHER that flame could only burn brighter!!!

I could never support a Kurtofsky romance for a variety of reasons, the main one being that Karofksy violently bullied Kurt. I don’t care that he was exhibiting repressed gay feelings directed at Kurt; he still attacked him on several occasions. I can’t find any enjoyment in watching a couple where the victim falls for his attacker. On the much more extreme level, it would be just like a rape victim falling for their rapist. Kurt shouldn’t even be speaking to him in the first place.

True, there was a definitive amount of violent bullying going on, but when Ryan Murphy categorically states that it was because of feelings for Kurt that he didn’t know what to do with, I’m inclined to believe Ryan. Also, if you want to talk rape, lets discuss what happened in the back of that car. A kiss < pulling someone on top of you and groping them.

Okay, I am FINE with Glee exploring realistic teenage relationships, some of which include sex. But this is the second episode where there has been an overt message that teens who choose not to have sex in high school are somehow freakish.

Trust me, folks, there are some kids who graduate high school as virgins, and not just kids who had no social life. But somehow Glee manages to send the message that these kids are missing out on some essential part of high school life, or even (as Holly Holiday put it) “unrealistic and maybe a little frigid.”

Seriously, Glee? I find this every bit as damaging as the “only sluts do it in high school” message.

Loved your review. Best Glee episode by far of the season.The pairings of Blaine and Sebastian and Kurt and Karofsky showed lots of chemistry. Thought Darren Criss did really well. The intercutting with WSSW songs was brilliant. First episode I wanted to watch again and very little of Rory which helped a lot.

I’m so glad we got to see Max Adler as Dave Karofsky again. His acting is truly superb and if Glee doesn’t use it to it’s fullest potential, someone else definitely will. That said, I do hope they bring him back, particularly after the warm reception he got for this episode. I love the chemistry and the dynamic between him and Chris Colfer. Those two have some of the best out of any of the characters in the show.

Well, in my view, Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris’ attempted Spanish accents in the film version of “West Side Story” were equivalent/just as bad as what Naya Rivera and Mark Salling did in “The First Time.”

Karen Olivo did a better job when she played Anita in the most recent Broadway revival of “West Side Story.” And the Argentine actress Josefina Scaglione, who played Maria, didn’t need to fake an accent for that production.

I LOVED Sebastian and look forward to seeing more of him. He is brilliant and made more impression on me than Rory did in an entire episode. Pumped for Glee for the first time in ever. Hope he sticks around for a while. We need ambiguous characters who are not whiny or saints…

So happy to see Dave Karofsky back on my screen in Glee! Last night’s screen in the bar between him and Kurt was so well done, one of the best moments of the episode. Very happy to hear of the possibility for there to be more of his storyline, since it is so meaningful to so many.